A Country Welcomes One Home

In February, Fairhope sent a Marine to war. This October, a country welcomes him home.

Has it really been eight months?  Yet at the same time, each day was a year. Every newscast was agony as his father and mother asked, “Was he in that?”  The phone ringing in the night meant only two things; a welcome call from a Marine nine hours ahead of us, or…  Our Marine is home safe, but scarred.

He left some blood over there and spent two weeks in a hospital because of it, but he is home whole. All who go leave something, some more than others, some leave all. Our Marine knows them.

I can breathe easier now. When I call my friend, or see his number come up on my phone, I won’t dread answering it. I know the Marine is safe in the states. He’ll be safe in the embrace of his family and friends in a few days.

We will meet him at the airport. There will be flags waved, tears shed, and smiles all around. All will wait their turn to embrace our returning hero, and as we step back we will be amazed at the change in him.

I shudder at the change. The first pictures shared with me from Afghanistan showed a happy, young Marine, enjoying the adventure of new circumstances, the brotherhood and camaraderie that only combat can instill in a unit. Five months later the pictures showed, as his father said, “A man who’s seen the elephant”. He was right; our Marine was no longer a boy. The stare back at me through those pictures showed a man with hard eyes, a lined face, a man who had given much and knew more than can be told in words. Innocence is gone. In its place is the knowledge that the world is often a hostile and violent place full of dangers and hate and occupied by people who want to hurt others.

He and I will embrace. Those watching will see our tears and think we are thinking how nice it is to see each other. They will be only partly right. Unless they are members of our fraternity, the society of combat, they will never fully understand. Maybe we won’t either, but I know we will both be thinking of those who are over there, and those who will never stand with us again in this life.

The young man will spend a lifetime wondering. At first, the closeness of adventure will buoy him through. Then the everyday things of life that our free America has to offer will distract him. Catching up with society by doing and seeing things he has missed, then education, dating, cars, family events, and a host of other things will serve to occupy his mind and keep the nightmare at bay. Soon, his own family and supporting them will take his focus. Maybe his children will serve, and things forgotten or buried will begin to surface. It is a sacrifice willingly made and a lifetime of haunting as well.

No welcome can roll back the clock, or make it all go away, but on behalf of a grateful nation, welcome home, Marine.